‘Plush’ New Mahindra XUV500 Launched At Rs 12.32 Lakh

Mahindra has launched the new XUV500 facelift in India at a starting price of Rs 12.32 lakh that goes all the way up to Rs 17.88 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) for the front wheel drive variant. Calling it the ‘plush’ new XUV500, Mahindra is marketing the new SUV as a more comfortable and luxurious offering than its competition - especially the competitively priced Jeep Compass and the resurgent Tata Hexa.

The Mahindra XUV500 facelift is more than just a mere cosmetic update. Changes to the SUV, apart from the noticeable front and rear nip-and-tucks, include leather upholstery on the inside, a new infotainment system with smartphone and smartwatch connectivity, more powerful diesel engine and new variant names.

The prices of the new Mahindra XUV500 facelift, ex-showroom, Mumbai, are as follows:

Diesel
XUV500 W5 - Rs 12.32 Lakh

XUV500 W7 - Rs 13.58 Lakh
XUV500 W7 AT - Rs 14.78 Lakh

XUV500 W9 - Rs 15.23 Lakh
XUV500 W9 AT - Rs 16.43 Lakh

XUV500 W11 - Rs 16.43 Lakh
XUV500 W11 AT - Rs 17.63 Lakh

XUV500 W11 Opt - Rs 16.68 Lakh
XUV500 W11 Opt AT - Rs 17.88 Lakh

Petrol
G AT - Rs 15.43 Lakh

As you can see, the diesel variants can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission and with either 2WD or AWD drivetrains. The petrol variants, on the other hand, are only offered with a 6-speed automatic gearbox and 2WD.

The 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine has been tweaked. It now develops 15PS more power and 30Nm more torque than before. The 2.2-litre petrol engine has not been revised in any way and still develops 140PS of maximum power and 320Nm of peak torque.

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If you feel that the XUV500 facelift doesn’t look as intimidating as before, you wouldn’t be wrong. Mahindra wants the XUV500 to look more ‘plush’, which has led to a toning down of the aggressive lines of the SUV. It still does have tonnes of road presence though.

Changes at the front include the new headlights with the DRLs moved to the top, a new subtle (as compared to before) chrome grille and a slightly reworked bumper. Changes at the sides are limited to some chrome detailing on the doors and the new 18-inch alloy wheels. The rear has been majorly redesigned with triangular taillamp clusters and a redesigned tailgate. The dual exhausts, though, have been carried over unchanged.

Inside, the design of the dashboard has not changed, but the materials used all around have been upgraded to make it feel better. The interior colour theme is contemporary, with black/brown upholstery and silver highlights. The centre console gets piano black plastics, which can be fingerprint magnets. The leather covers for the seats get a quilted design, which look and feel fancy.

Mahindra’s 7-seater SUV continues to get fancy equipment like a sunroof, 6-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, voice feedback, A/C vents on the pillars for the 2nd and 3rd row passengers, split- and flat-folding rear seats, tyre pressure monitor and others. The highlight of the new XUV500 is how you can check/control many of the functions of the XUV500 through its multimedia screen, or if you are a passenger, through the Blue Sense app for Android and iOS. The Blue Sense app is also available on a select range of smartwatches too, and seemed to work flawlessly during our first drive test.

While safety features like dual front airbags, ABS, ESP and all four disc brakes are offered as standard, the top-of-the-line W9 and W11 variants get six airbags, hill hold and hill descent control too.

It will be interesting to see if these changes could make the SUV the king of the segment again, at least till the all-new XUV500 rolls in, in a couple of years’ time.